Every now and then, Lyft changes up its pay structure, and every time they do they use some word salad to imply drivers will get a bigger cut of the money, which is of course not true. The rideshare industry has had a hard time getting profitable. Giving a bigger share of revenue to non-shareholders isn’t something Lyft is going to do. Lyft thinks I’m stupid, and they might be right, but I’m not that stupid.
I was reminded of this phenomenon when rumblings started coming out that Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball want to propose a salary floor in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, preventing teams from spending minimal money and continuing to pull in the minimal revenues non-competitive teams make, which are quite significant, as evidenced by the cost to buy an MLB franchise, which has risen dramatically in recent years. There was going to be a catch. There was no way the owners were going to propose a larger share going to players.
The catch, as it turns out, is that the proposal would include greater revenue-sharing from high-spending clubs to low-spending clubs, financed through the vehicle of a lower luxury tax threshold, the soft salary cap baseball uses to help its owners get away in the public eye with keeping more profits while telling fans this is about “competitive balance” and looking out for the little guy.
Now, there are ways this could be a net positive for baseball players. If the salary floor is accompanied by a shortened period of team control, or by arbitration earlier in a player’s major league career, or through an approach to service time that’s harder to manipulate, there are avenues in which this could help more players make more money. It would probably lower the going rates for production in free agency and arbitration, but if it opened those up to more players, there are ways in which players’ total utility would rise.
But overall, it’s another embodiment of the communistic elements of American professional sports. There are few consequences for failing organizations. Punishments for success are imposed. And just like in the real-world version of the governmental philosophy, the oligarchs, a protected class/self-selected boys club, keep most of the money for themselves.
hahahaha
opening up.